DENVER, CO — What began as a routine traffic observation on the evening of April 20th escalated into what the Denver Police Department is calling its “most efficient mass arrest in recent memory” when an officer stationed near a Taco Bell on South Colorado Boulevard discovered that not a single driver in the nine-car drive-thru line could produce a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance, or — in two cases — a coherent sentence.

Officer Janet Choe was conducting a routine patrol at approximately 10:15 p.m. when she noticed the Taco Bell drive-thru line extended onto the public roadway, blocking a full lane of traffic. She approached the first vehicle to ask the driver to move and quickly realized the situation was, in her words, “significantly more complicated than a long line.”

Nine Cars. Zero Valid Licenses. One Very Long Night.

According to the incident report, the first driver’s license had been expired since 2023. The second driver didn’t have a license at all but offered a Costco membership card “as a substitute.” The third driver was sitting in a parked car that was not in drive, repeatedly pressing the gas pedal and wondering why the line wasn’t moving. His car was in park. He had been there for forty minutes.

“Car number six — and I’ll remember this one — the driver handed me a fishing license and said, ‘That should cover it, I’m basically operating a vehicle on land.’ I had to sit in my cruiser for a minute after that one.” — Officer Janet Choe, Denver PD

Of the nine vehicles, officers issued seven citations for driving without a valid license, three DUI arrests, two citations for expired registration, and one arrest for an outstanding warrant related to — perhaps inevitably — a prior drug charge. One driver was found to have a valid license but was cited for driving with an open container, which turned out to be a Big Gulp cup filled with what the arrest report delicately describes as “a suspicious herbal-infused beverage.”

All nine drivers were processed at the scene. The three DUI arrests were booked into the Denver County Jail, and their collective booking page on JailReport.lol has been titled “The Taco Bell Nine.” The Taco Bell remained open throughout the incident. A spokesperson for the restaurant confirmed that all nine drivers’ orders were completed and held at the window. “We don’t judge,” the spokesperson said. “It’s 4/20.”